His primary supplier was a UK-based darknet dealer known as “Gunga Din,” believed to be part of a global LSD smuggling ring. On the surface, Edison Babu seemed like any other well-educated professional from Kerala—a mechanical engineer, a family man, and a mild-mannered resident of Muvattupuzha, Ernakulam district. To his neighbors and acquaintances, he was soft-spoken and reserved, occasionally spotted taking his toddler to daycare. Yet, behind this unassuming facade lay a dark and complex secret that would eventually draw the attention of India’s premier narcotics agency and shake the foundations of India’s fight against cyber-enabled drug trafficking. He reportedly used TAILS OS (a security-focused operating system that leaves no digital footprint), encrypted storage devices, cryptocurrency wallets, and multiple email aliases to cover his tracks.
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It’s a market for fake documents, hacking software, and financial fraud services. WeTheNorth has a strong community vibe, with an active forum where users interact and share updates. Of course, not all the popular and widely-used dark web sites and things like marketplaces on the dark net are illegal.
The suspect had allegedly been operating as the country’s only ‘Level 4’ darknet vendor under the moniker “Ketamelon” for the past two years, according to reports in local media. “One is a student who is from Goa but enrolled at a private university in Noida, another is a Delhi boy who was trying to send some of these blots to Kashmir and a girl who has been arrested from the NCR,” the zonal director said. He said the operation was undertaken by a special team of the Delhi zonal unit of the agency after they “patrolled” the darknet for many hours. It is trafficked by painting it on blots, half the size of a stamp paper, and is consumed by licking or swallowing. It is the second LSD trafficking cartel busted by the agency in the last about three months, officials said. However, you can trace its roots to the development of technologies like the Tor network or Freenet.
Common Scams On Dark Web Marketplaces
The team includes cyber security specialists, ethical hackers, and cyber professionals. Authorities revealed that numerous Malayalis are involved in such illegal dealings. These transactions often involve not only narcotics but also malware distribution, child sexual abuse material, counterfeit luxury goods, and illegal data sales.
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All three parcels were traced back to the prime accused in Muvattupuzha. A swift follow-up search at his residence the next day unearthed 847 more LSD blots and over 130 grams of Ketamine — together valued at Rs 35.12 lakh. The operation was set in motion on June 28 when officers intercepted 280 LSD blots from three international parcels at the Kochi International Post Office.
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It has a search option to let you find local and international products and services on the dark web. A lot of vendors from all over the world are registered here, offering an extensive range of products, including digital services, security tools, and other equipment. For those who are looking for a reliable Alphabay Market alternative, Awazon Market aspires to become the solution. Unlike regular e-commerce sites, markets on the dark web often deal with illegal or highly restricted goods and services, such as fake documents, hard drugs, and hacking services. Sure, you might come across listings for legit products like handcrafted jewelry or digital art, but those are few and far between. Although these marketplaces are continuously shut down by law enforcement agencies, they still work today.
No, black market websites operate illegally and pose high risks of scams, fraud, and law enforcement action. Active for a decade since 2014, it is a widely used credit card shop used to source stolen credit card information such as dumps, CVVs, Wholesale Accounts. One of the most common is the exit scam, where a marketplace suddenly disappears and takes everyone’s money with it. As of 2020, nearly 57% of the dark web was estimated to contain illegal content, including violence and extremist platforms. Authorities estimate that over 600 items were delivered across the country, taking use of postal system flaws to achieve scale and stealth.
The NCB said ‘Ketamelon’ was India’s only ‘Level 4’ darknet vendor operating actively over the past two years. “The name derives from the vendor’s early involvement in ketamine smuggling. Drugs were primarily sourced from a United Kingdom-based vendor Gunga Din, a known re-shipper of the globally infamous Dr. Seuss (a.k.a. DS or Tribe Seuss), believed to be the largest LSD source in the world,” it said. In September 2022, the Hyderabad police had arrested eight people, following which the name of “Zambada” cartel had come up. The man running the operations in India was in close contact with a darknet operator named Dr. Seuss aka DS, TS (Tribe Seuss) and Gamma Goblin, who is allegedly the largest source of LSD across the globe. “It is the largest cartel of LSD based on volume of business and supply chain.
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Additionally, custodial wallets on platforms such as Binance have been identified for further investigation and action. India’s Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has made a significant breakthrough in combating cybercrime and drug trafficking with the arrest of Edison Babu, a 35-year-old engineer from Kerala. Edison, operating under the alias “Ketamelon,” was identified as the mastermind behind India’s largest darknet drug trafficking operation. He utilized the government postal system and the dark web to facilitate his illicit activities, which involved the trafficking of drugs and the use of Monero cryptocurrency to launder over ₹68 lakh (approximately $82,000).
- “The name derives from the vendor’s (arrested accused) early involvement in Ketamine smuggling.
- They suffer losses such as identity theft, financial loss, and emotional distress due to damage to their personal and professional lives.
- Some markets are invite-only or have strict registration rules to keep out scammers and law enforcement.
- If you’re using a browser like Tor and visiting .onion websites that aren’t accessible through regular search engines or browsers, you’re likely on the dark web.
Language Sites
It underscores the double-edged nature of privacy in the digital age – a shield for personal freedoms but also a potential cloak for wrongdoing. Binance is a leading global blockchain ecosystem behind the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume and registered users. Binance is devoted to building an inclusive crypto ecosystem to increase the freedom of money and financial access for people around the world with crypto as the fundamental means. On darknet platforms, drug syndicates are rated between 1 and 5 stars based on the potency of their products and customer service. LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), commonly known as acid or blots, is a powerful hallucinogen that distorts perceptions of time, space, and senses. Users often report “hearing” colors or “seeing” sounds due to their intense psychological effects.
On the financial side, the network funneled funds through privacy-focused digital assets like Monero, while also using wallet-hopping and obfuscation techniques. India has seen as many as 92 cases since 2020 till April 2024 involving dark net and cryptocurrencies to purchase drugs, the nation’s junior Home Minister Nityanand Rai said to parliament on Wednesday. Over the past 14 months, more than 600 drug consignments were delivered to major cities including Bengaluru, Chennai, Bhopal, Patna, Delhi, and parts of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
The U.S. derivatives regulator issued a “reminder” that foreign crypto firms registered with the CFTC as FBOTs can directly handle U.S. customers. The data did not provide a distinction between how many of the 92 cases were solely dark net related and how many were solely crypto related in terms of methods of transactions. To assist in this mission for a drug-free India, NCB has requested public cooperation. Citizens can report narcotic-related information by calling the toll-free MANAS National Narcotics Helpline at 1933.
Vice City listens to the problems faced by its customers and vendors and solves them so that they can keep using the platform with ease. To access the marketplace, dark web users must register first and pass the CAPTCHA test to prove they are human. In fact, everything is in English, and the site picks up users everywhere in the world.
He used to source large quantities of synthetic drugs through the darknet and sell them to his customers. He used to receive the drugs through international couriers, the NCB source said. Prior to the Ketamelon bust, the NCB in 2023 dismantled the country’s largest LSD cartel at the time—Zambada. That operation led to the seizure of 29,013 LSD blots, 472 grams of MDMA, ₹51.38 lakh in cash, and the arrest of 14 individuals. The cartel operated from Delhi NCR and had a consistent 5-star rating on the darknet. Launched after the takedown of AlphaBay in 2021, Abacus Market has rapidly risen to prominence.
New software tools have been developed under cyber experts’ guidance to track and apprehend individuals involved in these transactions. Given the explosive growth of these markets, organizations must prioritize proactive threat monitoring. Axis Intelligence provides dark web surveillance solutions that help businesses identify leaked credentials, fraud attempts, and malware risks before they escalate. The name of this particular syndicate is derived from the vendor’s early involvement in Ketamine smuggling, as per the agency. In the present case, Gupta said that once the orders were received on darknet, the LSD blots were sent to buyers through couriers. Probe so far has revealed that the accused had sold the LSD blots to buyers in Bengaluru, Chennai, Bhopal, Patna, Delhi, as well as regions in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
